Zaldivar is a copper mine located in Chile, 1,400 km north of the capital Santiago. Zaldivar is situated in the western portion of the Atacama Plateau, part of the Tertiary porphyry copper system which also hosts the Escondida deposit. Zaldivar was discovered in 1979 and drilling was carried out between 1981 and 1984. Mining rights were acquired by Outukumpu in 1989, which formed a 50-50 joint venture with Placer Dome in 1992. Commercial production commenced in 1995 and in 1999, Placer Dome acquired Outukumpu’s 50% stake. Placer Dome itself was acquired by Barrick in 2006. At the time of publication of the Technical Report, 199.7 Mt ore and 123.5 Mt waste has been mined.
Zaldivar is mined as a single open pit using conventional shovel and truck. The site operates at a throughput of 37 Mtpa ore and 46 Mtpa waste with mine life concluding in 2028. LOM strip ratio is 1.12:1, producing 578 Mt ore grading 0.52% copper with 3.8 B lbs recoverable. The ultimate pit is 2.8 km long, 2.6 km wide, and 630 m deep. Ore is processed via heap leaching. Primary ore is crushed to 80% passing 13 mm and placed in a dynamic (on/off) heap leach at a nominal rate of 22 Mtpa. Marginal ore is directly placed in a static heap leach and operates at an average rate of 15 Mtpa. As a producing mine, Zaldivar is under no obligation to disclose project economics. Using the LOM production plan and economic parameters contained in the Technical Report, Mining Momentum has estimated a Pre-Tax Cashflow of US$4,092.2 M and NPV10% of US$1,836.2 M. Project economics further improve with a copper price of US$4/lb, with a Pre-Tax Cashflow of US$7,532.9 M and NPV10% of US$3,863.8 M.
| Tonnes (Mt) | Grade Cu (%) | Contained Cu (M lbs) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reserve | 578.0 | 0.52% | 6,602.0 |
| M+I | 124.8 | 0.44% | 1,225.0 |
| Inferred | 37.0 | 0.54% | 439.0 |
As the saying goes, “the best place to find a mine is an existing one”. Zaldivar certainly finds itself amongst giants, with the original Escondida mine located 5 km south and the newer Escondida Norte directly adjacent to the east. Zaldivar is a world class deposit in its own right. Grade is robust and there is plenty of it. The incredible thing about Zaldivar is its low strip ratio, and we have only scratched the surface. The oxides being mined sit atop sulphide mineralization. Unfortunately, Zaldivar is limited by its surface footprint. This places a physical constraint on the maximum depth of the pit. However, where there is a will, there is a way. With the way copper prices are going, extraction via underground mining or a joint venture with its neighbour to create a super pit are not beyond the realm of imagination.
The information presented above does not constitute investment advice. This is a summary from the NI 43-101 Technical Report effective December 31, 2011 (INSERT), with commentary from the author. Statements above do not represent the views of Barrick Gold. If any discrepancies arise, the information contained within the NI 43-101 are official and final. For latest depletion data, please refer to the AIF update.